Dandjinou completes individual distance podium sweep with gold in 1000m; Canada claims gold in both men’s and mixed relays

MONTREAL, QUEBEC – Canada’s short track team reached the podium five times on Sunday, winning three gold and two silver to conclude the second ISU Short Track World Tour stop of the season in Montreal.

Danaé Blais (Châteauguay, Que.), Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), William Dandjinou (Montreal, Que.) and Félix Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.) kicked things off with a gold medal performance in the 2000m mixed relay. The Canadians (2:37.599,) moved into first place during the tenth lap and held onto the lead until the end, defeating Poland (2:38.135) and Korea (2:38.004).

Sarault continued the momentum into the women’s 500m, where she reached the podium in the distance for the first time on the World Tour stage. The 25-year-old was unable to pass reigning World Record holder Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands (42.258), settling for silver (42.326) ahead of Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States (42.429). Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.) finished just off the podium in fifth place (42.542).

It was a battle between Sarault and Santos-Griswold again in the women’s 1500m, with the American (2:17.669) outstretching the Canadian (2:17.707) at the finish line to grab the bronze medal. Santos-Griswold, last season’s Crystal Globe winner, was joined on the podium by teammate Corinne Stoddard (2:17.516) and Korea’s Choi Minjeong (2:17.399).

The Canadian men also brought home some hardware on Sunday, including gold in the 5000m relay to close out a successful weekend of racing.

Dandjinou earned his third individual distance gold medal of the weekend, bringing home the men’s 1000m with a time of 1:25.417. He was joined on the podium by teammate Steven Dubois (1:25.465) and Korea’s Hwang Daeheon (1:25.587), while the third Canadian in the race, Roussel, finished just off the podium in fourth place (1:26.139).

The 24-year-old superstar later teamed up with Dubois, Roussel and Maxime Laoun (Montreal, Que.) to finish atop the podium in the men’s relay. The Canadians bided their time at the back of the pack for the first 33 laps, before inching their way to the front with four laps remaining. The Canucks crossed the line in 6:57.743, besting the Netherlands (6:58.372) and Italy (6:58.686).

The Ice Maples finished the weekend with 10 medals and their two-week homestand with 17 medals, including 10 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze. They currently rank first in the battle for the Team Crystal Globe, 3,246 points ahead of the Korean White Tigers (2,547 points), while Dandjinou (442 points) and Sarault (490 points) have comfortable leads atop their respective Crystal Globe standings.

The ISU Short Track World Tour returns next month with a pair of European stops, as skaters will visit Gdansk, Poland (November 20-23) and Dordrecht, Netherlands (November 27-30). Racing will be live streamed on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sport digital channels.